Tag: festivals

Every December since 2008, members of UNESCO’s cultural committee meet to decide which of the world’s cultural traditions will be honored for the previous year.
﻿This year, 31 traditions were recognized by UNESCO, and 14 of them are in MIR’s destinations. Read More

SEATTLE, WA -- 2010 will be the first time in 24 years that MIR Corporation, specializing in travel to the crossroads of Europe and Asia, offers small group tours featuring three different international festivals - Western Mongolia's Golden Eagle Festival, the annual Rose Festival in Bulgaria's Valley of Roses, and the extraordinary Naadam Festival in Mongolia's capital, UlaanBaatar. Read More

Held over a six-day period, the World Nomad Games bring the history and heritage of nomadic empires to life through athletic competitions and cultural performances. Each sport offers a unique chance to learn about and engage firsthand with the region’s centuries-old traditions — increasingly important as many nomadic cultures face the threat of extinction in the modern age.
Read on for a taste of what you can expect at the exciting World Nomad Games. Read More

The new documentary, "The Eagle Huntress," is shot against the vast steppe and soaring, snowy Altai Mountains of Mongolia. The movie follows a real-life 13-year-old girl, Aisholpan, as she trains to become an eagle hunter – the first female in 12 generations of her nomadic Kazakh family to do so.
The documentary is also creating curiosity about Mongolia, from its raw, wide-open landscapes to its remote, snowy mountains where eagles hunters – and huntresses – practice maneuvers with their golden eagles. Read More

Every few years, internationally respected dance ethnologist Helene Eriksen leads a group of enthusiasts to a different region of the world to explore its traditional dances, costumes and music.
Since 2016, Helene has teamed up with MIR for a Dance Tour Through Uzbekistan, which takes travelers on an unconventional journey to the heart of the Silk Road – Uzbekistan – to explore the dances, costumes and music of the Central Asian desert region.
Tour Manager Abdu Samadov shares some favorite highlights and surprise moments from the most recent departure of the trip. Read More

Turkmen people love to dance. As a scattering of nomadic tribes, they reserved dancing for gatherings and special occasions. Today, everyone from young children to the elderly will find any excuse to flaunt their best moves at festivals, weddings, holidays, and national performances. It’s not just a fun outlet, it’s a way to express pride for their country and cultural traditions.
Enjoy this three-part video from a recent trip to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, which captures some of the most famous Turkmen dances.
Read More

Spanning nearly 6,000 miles and crossing 7 time zones, this epic journey allows passengers to experience remote destinations and see the most of what this vast and variegated region has to offer in the least amount of time.
You could easily finish the entire route in as little as six days. But many opt to spend even more time along the Trans-Siberian, breaking up the journey at fascinating points along the line. We frequently hear from past travelers that these off-train excursions are what make the trip so satisfying.
Whether you’re wandering the massive metropolis of Moscow, taking in the astonishing beauty of Lake Baikal or mingling with the diverse people that call this region home, the Trans-Siberian is full of surprises.
Here’s just a sampling of our favorite things to do along one of the world’s greatest train routes... Read More

While the Trans-Siberian Railway travels through some sparsely populated parts of Russia and Siberia, stops along the way reveal a cavalcade of history, from Cossack fur traders to Soviet gulag prisoners. Here you can find stories of pioneering spirit, cloak-and-dagger intrigue, unbelievable suffering and radiant hope.
Here are a few favorite places along the way... Read More

Not for the faint of heart, ice-fishing is a cold and sometimes lonely pursuit. But on Siberia’s Lake Baikal, it’s often a social activity – something to fill up the long dark hours of winter, as well as to fill up the larder with smoked Baikal omul. Read More

MIR Tour Manager Michel Behar checks in from the road with Bulgarian high school folk dancers kicking up their heels at the fragrant Kazanluk Rose Festival. It's one of the highlights of MIR's June tour, Bulgaria & Romania: Frescoes & Fortresses. Read More

Traveler Reviews

The Chicago Tribune mentioned MIR's "Inside the Russian Space Program" in its column Trips, Tips and Deals. The Trib recommended the small group tour as a more reasonably priced alternative to a Richard Branson space flight.